And so it begins....Le Cordon Bleu!!!!

I don't have a whole lot to report this week because I have spent the last 6 days in class at Le Cordon Bleu..Yay! So excited and blessed to be in this program, it's very very challenging and intense but I am loving every minute.  Here is a sneak peak below.

What the Classic French Apple Tart is supposed to look like (first row apple tarts, back row delicious Normandy tart)

What my Classic French Apple Tart looked like after class...Yikes. First day in the kitchen so there is nowhere to go but up, right? The chef "recommended that I start practicing this at home in order to pass." He was very gracious and told the class that this was a "rustic home style" version of the classic pastry.

Classic shortbread cookies, we used so much butter in these but they were great.

 Saint Honore Pastry, Yay, I am improving  on the dough techniques. This delicious classic requires two complicated dough recipes but it was beautiful. The chef said I did a good job on the dough but I need to practice on the pastry cream filling design.

Long story short, the first week has been AMAZING, I also met some great new friends. The most interesting thing about the folks taking this class is that we all have very similar personalities. Most of us are professional people who have either quit/taken sabbatical from our careers in completely different industries to pursue an entrepreneurial dream or passion. It's been interesting to learn about what the different students plan on doing with their education from Le Cordon Bleu.

On another note....

June 21 is known as Fete de la Musique in Paris. There are concerts going on all over the streets of Paris, we enjoyed this band below after walking out of class.
http://goparis.about.com/od/events/p/Fete_Musique.htm

Great band playing outside of a restaurant across the street from my school. Bands like this were scattered all over Paris on Friday. What a great idea.

Spa time (-:
I was really missing my Milk & Honey monthly spa visit back when I had a job and such (-; (but I am on a strict budget now) however, I splurged today after hearing about this wonderful Middle Eastern Spa located in the 2 Arrondissement.

http://o-kari.com/hammam-paris/

The spa is tucked away in this beautiful building. The owner was amazing,  what a great and unique experience.

"Wherever you are be fully there"-Author Unknown

I aspire to do this everyday, I have a tendency to not live in the moment and start planning my next project or adventure.

Okay, important things to talk about like Le Cordon Bleu and Food/Wine (in general)

So, the whole plant based thing has been challenging, especially in a country who prides itself on their cheese.  I have been good about 90% of the time but I am going to have to be a part-time dairy free consumer because according to my peeps at Le Cordon Bleu, we are going to be using a lot of butter and cream for the pastries....and I have to taste test everything I make (tough life, right?).  Speaking of Le Cordon Bleu, I attended my orientation on Saturday and met some really amazing new friends, I officially start cooking tomorrow. 

My cookbook from Le Cordon Bleu, I will be learning how to make every patisserie you could ever want. 

Little sample of what I will be learning....good thing I do not care for macaroons but the French sure do.

Tour of our patisserie kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu. They are super strict with our attire, no make-up,  earrings, rings, etc. All the classes are in French. 

My neighborhood vegan restaurant which is AMAZING. Le Potager du Marais.
 http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-potager-du-marais-paris

Amazing wine and cheese pairing at www.o-chateau.com my favorite wine is sulfate free, Domaine de Briante Beaujolais Brouilly.

Finally found some good Chianti in this town at http://www.enoteca.fr
I love France but Italy will always have my heart. 

A side note:
I managed to drop my cell phone on the interior track of the Metro in Paris. I am incredibly thankful to the Metro staff for being so kind to me. They delayed a train to go down in the track and retrieve my phone. I gave the Metro lady a hug, which I think scared her...LOL. Language barrier aside, they went above and beyond their job to help and I appreciate it.

Getting an India Travel Visa in France
A good portion of my last week has been working to secure an India travel visa for my October trip with the ladies of Leadership International to New Delhi, India. Apparently, you need a husband or a father to apply for this visa....I am not complaining but I have never seen anything like that on an application before.

Au Revoir pour l'instant. I am taking french classes this week so I hope to have a few interesting updates next week.

Timing is Everything!

My apologies in advance for starting this entry with a cliche but truly, this is the perfect way to describe my last two weeks. So here goes......"Timing is Everything in Life" (specifically when it comes to the following; sailing the Adriatic Sea, passing 5 cars on a one way highway alongside a cliff in Bosnia, going through border security in Bosnia, Paris real estate and last but not least, taking a pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu and living in the pastry capital of the world when your dear friend who you admire and respect has just convinced you into going on a 21 day plant based/non dairy diet.)  Should make for an interesting week ahead with school starting.

First off, I miss Texas Y'all.  Last week I made the mistake of ordering nachos at an Indian Vegan Restaurant in Croatia.....I took a photo and quickly deleted, it made me nauseous just looking at it...so no post. I had another "hermit crab" day today where all I wanted was to go out for a good margarita and chips/salsa.....I tried out the local Parisian version of Tex-Mex at Le Perla....not bad but it will have to do until I am back home.

Margarita at La Perla near my new apartment.

We will always have Dubrovnik (Jen, Jen, Jen and Gargi).
Wow, what do you get when you travel with 4 girls who were born in the same time frame as you???? You get at least 3 out of 4 Jennifer's in the mix...LOL. I took a little side trip with a few home girls from Dallas, Austin and NYC. We had a fabulous time despite the challenges along the way during our 11 day adventure. I can't put the whole experience into words so this is just an overview of a wonderful and priceless experience.

Off the beaten path in Bosnia???? Or not, actually let's go with not.... So according to Frommers (where I get all of my political and international news...lol) we should probably not go off the beaten path because of land mines. The drive was going great until we hit the border patrol from Croatia into Bosnia (apparently, we had some explaining to do at the border in Bosnia). We soon discovered that the border police did not find it amusing as we did that all three of us in the car were named Jennifer. We were promptly directed to pull over for questioning. I, of course, get out to meet with the police to start the vehicle search. The officer gives me that "what the hell are you doing in Bosnia look" and I promptly make a joke that what we are not doing is "driving off the beaten path" which did not translate well.  I transitioned into the, "we are touring your country" bit which he and the other officer also did not find to be amusing..two strikes.  They decided to search our car, that was fun....we passed the test and were on our way to Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Zagreb, Croatia

Amazing view from restaurant in Sarajevo, Bosnia

Sarajevo Tunnel from the Bosnian War.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Tunnel

Beautiful Mostar, Bosnia. Home to the oldest mosque in Bosnia, which we walked up to in the rain.

Sailing Croatia (not a good idea during torrential rains)
So we checked the weather several days in advance before heading down to Split, Croatia to catch our sail boat to the Croatian islands. We discovered 2 days in advance that the forecast predicted torrential downpours in the area. We called our sailing company who stated that we were set to sail rain or shine. "Note to my friends" who plan on sailing Croatian Islands in the future, don't book too far in advance, they don't regard safety concerns when it comes to weather. I would highly suggest taking day ferries out from Dubrovnik , Croatia to the islands versus chartering a sailboat (unless of course you have Beyonce/Jay Z kind of money to spend on a yacht).

This was a mild cloud, we spent the majority of our time down below  in the boat.

What our trip was supposed to look like...LOL.

Got one evening of no rainfall on the island of Split, Croatia. 

Somehow we talked our way into the VIP table at 360 Dubrovnik Restaurant. this is the same table where Beyonce and Bill Gates had a meal. I am sitting in Beyonce's chair which makes me smile as a fellow Houstonian.

My one day of gorgeous beach time on Lapad Beach in Dubrovnik, Croatia. 

здраво (Hello) from Croatia

Dear family and friends, I normally update my blog on Sunday's but this week was a little complicated since I was sailing the Adriatic Sea. All is well, we made it through torrential rains and storms.

This was about as calm as it got out on the sea, we had torrential rains and cold temperatures.

As you can see we are are bundled up in jackets and scarves for our island sailing tour...LOL.

UPDATE: I found a new apartment in the 4th district of Paris today so I am moving, I will not have Internet access until next week so I will update my blog on Tuesday evening unless I have access to Internet before then. I have so many awesome things to share in regards to Bosnia and Croatia, details to come and lots and lots of food pictures of course.

Walking the City Wall of Dubrovnik, this fortress is one of the largest in Europe. Built between the 12th-17th Century.